usdaed

For decades, the pursuit of self-driving vehicles resembled a particularly frustrating quest for the Holy Grail. The assumption was that all that was needed was more…stuff. More cameras, more sensors, more lidar. It was the ‘more is better’ school of engineering, which, while occasionally effective, often results in a vehicle that can detect a dust mote at fifty paces but can’t quite manage a parking space. Now, though, the whispers speak of Artificial Intelligence as the true alchemical ingredient – the philosopher’s stone that will turn leaden metal into autonomous gold.

Which of these two, then, offers a more plausible path towards growth? The answer, I submit, is not one of boisterous certainty, but rather a quiet observation of existing currents. It is a matter of discerning which has already begun to cultivate a garden, and which remains, for the present, a fallow field.

This Marathon outfit, they did a bit of housecleaning back in February of ’26, unloading their Cinemark shares during the last quarter of ’25. A tidy sum vanished from their books, reflecting the sale. One might say they jumped ship just as the waters began to churn, though I reckon every man has his reasons, and a good investor keeps a weather eye open.

Decades ago, the Japanese came in with these little fuel-efficient cars. And Detroit? They ignored it. Completely. Said it was a fad. A fad! Now they’re doing the same thing. Only this time, it’s with batteries and charging stations. And the charges? Oh, the charges. It’s not the money, it’s the principle of the thing. They just throw money at problems instead of, I don’t know, asking people what they want.

The price, hovering around $84.84 per share, barely nudged above the market close that same day. It wasn’t a desperate attempt to offload before a downturn, but a simple transaction, completed in the quiet hum of the market. He still holds a substantial stake, over two million shares held in trust, and a direct holding of fifteen thousand. A man doesn’t abandon a field he’s tilled for so long with a single swing of the scythe.

The filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission confirmed what the discerning observer might already suspect. 85,000 shares of the ETHA trust were released, leaving no trace at quarter’s end. It was not a frantic scramble for the exit, but a deliberate pruning – a recognition, perhaps, that certain ventures, however promising in their initial conception, fail to fully blossom. One wonders if the digital ether, so ethereal in its nature, proved too elusive to grasp with the firm hand of a traditional portfolio.

The stock retreated by 11.2% as of late morning, a rather dramatic reminder that sentiment, like a fickle lover, can withdraw its affections with startling speed.

A recent SEC filing from February 17, 2026, shows that Portolan Capital Management bought an additional 259,101 shares of Baidu (BIDU 0.36%) in the last three months of the year. This investment is worth approximately $32.16 million, based on average prices during that quarter. The total value of Portolan’s Baidu holdings rose by $33.85 million by the end of the quarter, due to both the new purchases and an increase in Baidu’s share price.

Nvidia. The name tastes like silicon and ambition. They make the brains for the new gods – artificial intelligence. Everyone’s bullish. Predictably. The stock’s been on a tear, climbing faster than a gambler’s debt. But high altitude brings thin air. The latest earnings report? A 73% jump, they said. The stock dropped. Go figure. The market’s starting to suspect this AI boom isn’t going to lift all boats. Smart money.

They speak of artificial intelligence as the engine of this growth, a digital heart beating beneath the surface. A bold claim, of course, and one that echoes through the valley of Silicon dreams. The promise is disruption, a reimagining of an industry steeped in tradition. Yet, profit remains a phantom, a horizon perpetually receding. They forecast a turning, a positive yield in adjusted earnings by the fourth quarter of 2026. A long wait, even for a patient man.